Main Street America said it will retain its affiliation with Trusted Choice, the branding program of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America. In 2017, the American Family group’s written premium was $8.8 billion. The company sells American Family-brand products, including auto, homeowners, life, business and farm/ranch insurance, primarily through exclusive agents in 19 states. American Family affiliates, The General, Homesite and AssureStart, also provide options nationally for consumers who want to buy insurance over the internet or by phone. Main Street America wrote more than $1 billion in premium last year. The company sells commercial and personal insurance as well as surety bonds, all through independent agents. Main Street America has an “A” (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook for financial strength from A.M. Best, the same as American Family. American Family became a mutual holding company in 2017, making mergers like this possible. The American Family Insurance group ended 2017 with approximately 11,300 full-time equivalent employees and Main Street America has approximately 900. At this time, no major employee or operational changes are expected as a result of the merger, according to the announcement. Geographic and Product Diversification Commercial products for small business owners, artisan contractors, vehicles, workers’ compensation and agribusiness account for approximately 70 percent of Main Street America’s direct written premium, with 90 percent of their total premium coming from outside the 19 states where American Family sells through exclusive agents. The companies said the merger includes plans to supplement American Family commercial products with Main Street America products, and for Main Street America to enhance its personal lines products with American Family enterprise products marketed to Main Street America customers under the Main Street America brand. “Our commitment to our exclusive agency force has never been stronger,” said Salzwedel. “This merger will give our agents more products to offer policyholders while providing the American Family Insurance group another avenue through which to sell products – independent agents.” “The partnership with American Family creates tremendous potential for Main Street America and our valued independent agent-customers,” added Van Berkel. “The ability to leverage American Family’s powerful technology platforms will enable us to deploy products more rapidly and make it easier for agents and insureds to transact business with us.” The merger will diversify American Family’s product mix, increasing commercial lines from 8 percent to 14 percent of the combined entity’s direct written premium. It will also spread the geographic risk for both companies over a larger area. “When you have a merger of this magnitude, you fear the process will be arduous. But, it’s been great working with Tom (Van Berkel) over the past six months. He’s been a visionary, identifying early on how a merger could enhance both companies,” said Salzwedel. “The benefits to policyholders and our companies became clear. With a heavy concentration on the East Coast, Main Street America will help extend the reach of the American Family group. American Family, in turn, will help bring new products and technology to Main Street America and its policyholders. “We will continue to strategically expand our enterprise,” added Salzwedel. “When we see growth opportunities that provide more options and value for policyholders, we will pursue them.” Rating agency A.M. Best said the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a+” of the operating subsidiaries of Main Street America Group remain unchanged. On March, 22 before the merger announcement, A.M. Best affirmed the “A” (Excellent) Financial Str

This year, high-income retirees can expect to shell out even more money to cover their Medicare premiums.

That's because as of 2018, there is a shift in the income brackets that are used to determine how much older Americans will pay for their Medicare Part B and Part D coverage, according to a recent analysis by HealthView Services, a provider of health-care cost projection software.

Medicare Part B covers preventive services and doctor visits, and Part D covers prescription drugs.

These surcharges could take a bigger bite out of present and future retirees' income than they may have expected.

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A 55-year-old couple, where each spouse earns $70,000, could anticipate seeing their lifetime Medicare surcharges rise by almost $122,000 due to changes to how the health-care program charges its beneficiaries, HealthView Services found.

You are eligible for Medicare at 65, so this hypothetical couple has 10 years until they qualify.

The highest earners may end up paying 200 percent more for Parts B and D compared to someone in the first bracket.

"The fear is that things will continue along these lines where future retirees will be responsible for more and more of their medical costs and will be receiving less in terms of compensation," said Ron Mastrogiovanni, CEO of HealthView Services.

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